Heart of Ice
Summary: Guiltor breaks Quickswitch out of the Protectobot's prison, making promises of glory. Will Quickswitch be tempted by him, or listen to his friends? Brig The brig in the protectobot base. Since it belongs to the Protectobots, its is pretty nice, with a comfy bench and a vending machine. There is also a selection of various bibles from races around the galaxy, and a library of self-help books Thing Contents: Raindance Laser Pistol Everyone in the Protectobot base might hear a sharp whistling sound, like a bomb being dropped... Nate Briar has arrived. Nate Briar has his mobile suit following behind him and he grabs one of the various bibles. "Ah, One Fish, Two Fish, Jesus Fish, Blue Fish." He opens the book. "From there to here, from here to there, funny Christians are everywhere. Mormons. Jehovahs. Their beliefs are as real as the pot of gold under rainbows!" He continue to read the passages from the Dr. Seuss book. The creature contained in the cell had spent the halfday devising means of escape from his prison. He hated it there, hated what it reminded him off, even the scatterings of items meant to dampen the sterility and point of the confines. Several bibles and self-help books sizzled against the bars where they were thrown. The vending machine stood puckerend and dented, and the Six Changer crouched on the floor. This was a complete waste of time. There was one thing he could do, a sly smile, as he struggled as he had, to transform, all day without success, but there was one thing he could do that he was certain the others didn't know about. The inhibitors they used couldn't deal with--Quickswitch forced his cog, the wall he hit, the inhibition angered him, raged him, ah hah... the smile was back, the spike of rage assauged as he worked his Six Changer Teenage Mutant Ninja magic and forced his cog through rapid and random succession to OVERLOAD the--His form thundered against the ground, treads smacking, "There we go," the Six Changer grinned, pleased, "One down--now for the.." his audio sensors picked up the incoming... SOmething they knew well, "Get ready..." KATHOOM! A section of the wall of the brig suddenly blows open, scattering concrete and steel rebar in every direction. A massive, hulking form loomed from the breach in the wall. "QUICKSWITCH! QUICKSWIIIITCH!" Optimus Prime's voice roars. The dust settles, revealing Guiltor! The Quintesson tormentor growls quietly, steadying his emotions. He is no careless berserker. Military victories mean little to him. It's the psychological battles that he fights so well. He must steady himself if he is to unbalance others. "You are free, Sixchanger. Do you see the gift that the Quintessons have granted you?" He extends a hand towards Quickswitch, and red lightning crackles out from it. "Here! Another gift! Hold still, and I shall destroy the inhibitor within your body!" The lightning surges towards the Autobot... Nate Briar continues, "Buddha is Vodoo. Islam is the bomb. Thou shall not follow false Gods on a table! Thou shall not watch follow false Gods when it's on cable. Thou shall not worship false Gods in a chair, Thou shall not follow false gods anywhere!" Nate finishes the bible and closes it. He is unaware of what is going on. Michael Briar has arrived. Alarms sound out throughout the Protectobot base. "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! BRIG HAS BEEN BREACHED! ALL SECURITY, REPORT TO THE BRIG!" You strike Laser Pistol with Red Lightning. Harry Houdini would be proud, yes, as Quickswitch worked the inhibitor to its breaking point. But, that sound meant only one thing. He at least had his blasters. Those idiots couldn't deprive him of his blasters, bonded right to his own processes, as HE was a gun himself. He stared, grimly, ahead as the wall Was it Optimus Prime, come to free him...? No. It isn't him at all, it's that-- The tank skidded back, the thick armor absorbed the brunt of the lightening--or it should have--Hss, damn that hurt. Whatever they were using, the Autobots could benefit from it on the battlefield, ow... "Come off it, Prime!" Quickswitch called, the momentary shock mistaking this abomination for their former leader, "I dunno what you want, but this," he shifted up into his large robot mode, "I mean hey, thenks for busting me out--those idiots wouldn't know common sense if it broadsided them," It /wasn't/ Optimus, "You..." Quickswitch rapidly transforms into a hulking drill tank. Quickswitch springs up into his massive robot mode. You evade Quickswitch's Photon Blasters attack. "Stop with the blasters and just tell me what it is you want. DAMN!" Nate Briar hears the firing but doesn't really pay attention. He puts the Dr. Seuss Bible back on the shelf with the others and ponders tinkering with his mech. "I wonder what to do tonight now." Raindance has disconnected. Guiltor's torso suddenly jerks and twists around as Quickswitch fires upon him, and Guiltor twists out of the way. "No, I am not Optimus Prime. But I was built upon his foundation, and Megatron's, as well. And... possibly... other... Transformers, as well." Guiltor steps into the cell, and tries to clasp his hands onto Quickswitch's shoulders. "I am not here to harm you, Quickswitch. As I said, I am here to free you. Not just from this cell, but from the Autobots, who hate and despise you! To your face, they may say they respect your abilities, but behind your back, they sneer at you for being DIFFERENT from them! For being more powerful than them!" He looks around the cell, as if trying to pinpoint something. "Do you... hear them, Quickswitch?..." "That FREAK better be in his cell!" Blades is heard growling, amidst the patter of busily running metal feet. Or so it seems, anyway... Guiltor succeeds in grasping Quickswitch, throwing it off-balance. You hear a knock on the door from Protectobot Command Center . Quickswitch eyes the other robot with marks skepticism, "Where have I heard that one before?" his brow inches up and a low tug of his lips shows his uncertainty, as he meets the other mech's face, an uncertainty that grows, "I dunno. The Autobots may not know what they're doing most of the time, but they're all that stands between the Decepticons taking over... everything," he spoke this with contemplation, a hint of confusion in his vocorder. The words were true, he had to admit that. His 'comrades', he scoffed, who tiptoed around him at the prison, whispered that he was -just- -like- /them/, that they were all in danger, how different and strange he was, how not to be trusted.... And they were doing it now. Contempt bristled in the Six Changer's circuits, rankled over his features. He looked down. Guiltor looks Quickswitch straight in the optics. "And what stands between you, and their vile hatred?" He peers over Quickswitch's shoulder, and Blades appears to be on the other side of the bars. The Protectobot snarls, "You lousy FREAK! Working with Guiltor! We're gonna string you up and gut you!" Guiltor looks back at Quickswitch. "You see?... They all hate you. Deep down, what Blades said is what all Autobots truly feel. They hate you for being better than them, Quickswitch. But..." He steps around the Sixchanger as the cell door opens. "...if you join the Quintessons, you can fight BACK!" Blades stomps into the brig. "I'm gonna mess you both--URK!" He is cut off as Guiltor grabs him by the throat, and lifts him up. "Join me," Guiltor says, as he places his other hand on Blades' shoulder. "AND YOU CAN PREVAIL OVER THOSE WHO SNEER AT YOU!" And with a sharp pull, Blades' head is wrenched out, trailing circuitry and energon. Andi Lassiter has arrived. Andi Lassiter enters the brig area with a concerned expression, looking for Quickswitch. If there's an intruder in the base, he's probably their best defender right now while the Protectobots aren't home. Andi Lassiter rounds the corner just in time to see an unfamiliar pair of hands separating the head of an Autobot from his body and her eyes go wide as she puts one hand over her mouth to keep a gasp of surprise from giving her presense away. She takes one small step back away from the cell, trying to mentally determine if there's anyone else in the base to help. Quickswitch spoke a murmuring chant through jittery stops in his vocalizar, "I should kill you where you stand--I should kill you where you stand--" Alarm, his confusion deepened, his hands oily-slick on his blaster grips. WHAT DID HE DO TO BLADES??!?! Quickswitch looked back toward Guiltor. What he said /was/ logical, /was/ true. Quickswitch /was/ a superior technology and the others did resent him for his methods. Methods which worked. It was more than the creature wanted to take. He was no coward, but the Guiltor construction spoke the truth... But, join the Quintessons? The assault unit felt nothing as Blades' head was wrent from its body. Only swirlings of emotion around its uncaring processor. Still, he was shocked, amazed, "How dare you--THAT WAS A PROTECTOBOT--" That was Blades. he glared. The Autobots were losers, but if they were, the Quintessons were ten times that! Guiltor shakes his head as he drops Blades' head and body disdainfully. "Even if you were to defeat me, Quickswitch, I cannot truly die. Don't you see? I have died three times already. And each time, I have returned, my resolve strengthened every time I was uploaded into a new body." He turns back to Quickswitch, throwing his arms open, inviting an attack. "Attack me if you wish. But know that I am not your true enemy." More metal footsteps sound out down the hallway, Guiltor glancing in their direction. "Quickly, now, you must come with me! They're coming!" Just as Guiltor warned, Hot Spot comes round a corner, yelling, "STOP! Wait... oh Primus! Blades... Quickswitch, you killed him, didn't you!?" Andi Lassiter might notice, as Hot Spot charges towards the brig, The Protectobot's foot descending down towards her from out of nowhere... but once it makes contact with her, it simply passes through her! What the? Andi Lassiter blinks back and up at Hot Spot. She didn't know he was...ACK! She throws her hands over her head as it looks like he's gonna step on her and...then looks after the hologram in surprise and now growing anger. Whoever that is in there is screwing with Quickswitch and it will stop. RIGHT NOW. She walks quietly closer to the scene of all of the unpleasantness, purposely walking THROUGH the holographic corpse and looking up at Guiltor with her arms crossed and that stern expression she found so effective against obstinate kindergarten children. She's actually standing half in and half out of the Blades hologram. "You, sir, will STOP this immediately or I will have to ask you to leave." Mommy Voice is set to kill. The Six Changer's thundering processors and circuits vied between rage and shock and panic and--He didn't kill Blades. It was HIM! He glared defiantly. His head shook, his hands shook, he brought them to his head, shaking his denial. Confusion ran rampant through his neural network, alongside panic, "No--No..." he looked at Hot Spot, then, he looked at Prime. The Prime Impactor had told him all about and he had one day hoped to meet. Something wasn't right, but Prime's essence was there and THAT seemed right in his mind, for its presence. Quickswitch glanced frantically around, "Impactor and the Wreckers..." he murmured. They are what stood between him. Oh Primus, it was that human, the one who-- Quickswitch's overclocked systems, his mind, was pushed to its limits. Giving neither an answer, the Six Changer left--He wasn't a coward! He fought back the thoughts already crowding for space, the scorn, the self-lasceration he felt. He bolted, headed for the breached opening and transformed. Accelerated, Quickswitch transforms into a sub-orbital jet. Foxfire has arrived. Guiltor calls out, as Quickswitch begins to leave, "Consider my offer, six-changer! You will have a home amongst the Quintessons. They will appreciate you. They will grant you eternal life! Don't run away from the best offer of your life!" Turning, Guiltor glances down at little Andi, and stoops down by her, his cruel crimson optics leering at her. "Hmm. Ms. Lassiter, I presume? Giving orders to someone many times your size and mass? You are quite brave, if foolish. But I was hoping to meet you, too. Tell me, why did you try to save Galvatron's life in Washington D.C.? If you can't remember that, here's a refresher..." He gestures to the side, and there, a TV appears in mid-air, playing news footage of the Blayn incident, featuring Andi Lassiter trying to "catch" a mirror that Galvatron was supposedly trapped inside of. Andi Lassiter looks at the image as if blandly watching a television commercial, then looks back at the leering Guiltor. "No one deserves that kind of humiliation, not even someone who's sworn to eradicate all human kind. And if you think your mind games will work on me, then you are even more pathetic than that Blayn character was." Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet speeds away. He /didn't/ kill Blades. Wouldn't have, odious or not. He was the only Protectobot with any kind of sense! But the others would never listen to him. Guiltor tilts his head at Andi's logic. "Perhaps no one does deserve that sort of humiliation, but then again, maybe that's not the point. You see, Daniel knew exactly what to do, even if it meant risking your life." The floating TV shows Daniel firing his laser at the mirror, shattering it. "He knew that, humiliation or no, human lives would be saved if he killed Galvatron then and there. He was a true defender of the human race, unlike you. You SYMPATHIZE with your race's own mortal enemy!" His hand suddenly snatches out for Andi, grabbing her. He brings her up to his face. "But alas, we will have to continue this conversation on the road, so to speak. I can't let Quickswitch go that easily." Then, he stuffs Andi into his torso's passenger compartment--he turns into a truck, after all--and, after blasting a hole through the brig's ceiling, flies off after the six-changer. Andi Lassiter gets snagged and picked up and stuffed into Guiltor's passenger compartment before she can really protest. Her only reply being an "Oof!" upon hitting the seats in the compartment. Oh, now you've REALLY messed up Weirdor. You just put a MEDIC into your chest. And she's got a laser scalpel in her pants pocket. "When Humans Attack!" South Pole Curious, your compass shows every direction you turn as "north". This must be earth's south pole, the furthest southern point you can go on the planet. Like everywhere else on this continent, it's very cold here, and ice is almost everywhere, though there are a few sections of rock visible here and there now that the icy plateau and ice-bonded islands to the north have been crossed. Overhead is the hole in the ozone layer, caused by the pollutants released when humans didn't know any better. Ultraviolet radiation that is normally stopped by the atmosphere leaks through here. But it still doesn't make this land any warmer Quickswitch has arrived. Andi Lassiter has arrived. Foxfire has arrived. Guiltor has been chasing after Quickswitch for some time, able to locate him based on the information given by secret Quintesson spy satellites. And is still riding inside of him, probably finding Guiltor's interior is surprisingly comfortable, despite him being the self-proclaimed "Champion of Torment." Michael Briar has arrived. Andi Lassiter takes only a few moments to recover from the surprise, then looks around and takes stock of her surroundings. She's looking for a vulnerable spot to start attacking Guiltor from the inside, 'cause she does NOT take kindly to people who treat her friends like crap. She finds what might be a small access panel -- too small for any Cybertronian or even Quintesson to take much notice of but easily big enough for a human -- and starts trying to open it with the laser scalpel she'd had stowed in her jeans pocket. Cold, cold, cold... Foxfire has apparently gone unnoticed. His wings are extended and he is chasing after Guiltor. Needless to say, he's rather ticked about what the strange mech has been doing to his friends and comrades. He intends to put a stop to it...but then again, what can a little foxbot do? The sub-orbital jet cleaved across the atmosphere as fast and as far as his engines would carry him. The further he was away from these humans and those 'comrades' of his, the ones, he spat, who criticized his methods while leaving their own trapped and forgotten for aeons! He landed, switching forms violently and impacting the harshness of the ice, as hard as he felt at that moment. He look around himself at the barren landscape, at the aurora above him, seeing nothing but electromagnetics. That DAMNED GUILTOR-- its presence agitated him, confused him to the point of threatening his control. He crunched over the ice on huge feet. It wasn't Cybertron, but it was remote, and here, he hunched down with a form not even /designed/ to ever sit, he was /that/ much a warrior, and had time to work through the morass troubling his mind. Also, he was free. Quickswitch springs up into his massive robot mode. Does Guiltor feel the tickling of the laser scalpel in his insides? Does he know that Foxfire is chasing after him? If he does, it doesn't prevent from following Quickswitch. Speaking of which, he lands in the snow some time after Quickswitch does, near the six-changer's position, and begins to march slowly towards him. "Quickswitch!" Guiltor calls out. "Have you thought about my offer? It's still open." His voice sounds warm, caring. Like... Optimus Prime's voice would have been. His great hands were at the sides of his helm again as he heard the voice, it sounded so much like Optimus Prime, "No--I..." the Six Changer responded through gales of icy wind, "The Autobots may be cretins with a few enlightened sparks among their ranks," his vocorder scathed, then, as doubt colored it, he hung his head again, "The Quintessons are tricketers... you..." he was confused, as confused as when that human had opened a fuel line and incapacitated him! "I am a Wrecker. Impactor is my Leader, and I follow him," he speaks, without making my sort of offensive move, "The Autobots may resent me, but..." he looked up, uncertain, compassionate optics meeting the amalagmation of Prime. Foxfire comes to a stop. He doesn't land, instead hovering in place with the help of his anti-gravs. "You tell 'im, Quicky! Don't listen to anything that freak says! You're still an Autobot, and always will be!" Nate Briar has arrived. Andi Lassiter pulls the panel free and sets it aside gently, if only to make sure that she doesn't get Weirdor's attention. Looking at the exposed circuitry, she tries to determine what will cause the most damage the fastest. Guiltor listens quietly to Quickswitch for a few moments, and glances over as Foxfire jeers at him. "Ah, the little cheerleader of the Autobots. Small and inconsequential. Ignore him, Quickswitch. He knows not of your inner pains, either." He continues to approach the six-changer, purposefully. "Yes, the Quintessons are deceivers. But their power is finite. You see, with your power, and the might of Piranacon, we could overthrow them, Quickswitch. All of us together. We could form our own Cybertronian Empire on the ashes of the Quintesson Empire, and end this foolish civil war!" All of that is total nonsense, but.. "Or, you could stay with the Autobots, and spend several more thankless millions of years performing mundane tasks, hm? It is your choice." Andi might notice a heavily shielded cylinder-like object inside Guiltor's chest. A lot of the wiring seems to be connected to it. It must be something very important... Andi Lassiter carefully checks the connections into that cylinder, trying to see which ones are power conduits, which ones are communication lines, and so on. She also looks past it to see what else of interest might be within easy reach. Foxfire snarls a little, finally landing in the snow and retracting his wings. "Who are you calling a cheerleader? I do a lot more than you think, Freakatron! Now leave Quickswitch alone!" The Six Changer felt something, then, gratitude, a warm smile at the small--weak, there was a stab of reminder--Autobot tape. The form did not move, even as ice frosted over him. End the war? Yes! His circuits leapt with enthusiasm as he felt, "The Seacons...?" he asked, recognizing the gestalt. Overcome..? And then he didn't have to fight anymore...? Something he had not felt in a long time, hope, lit in his optics, "Are you sure..?" he asked in a quiet voice. Somewhere inside him, disturbed thoughts churned, not yet troubling him. He had no desire to be part of anyone's empire, but putting an end to the war--that was his job!--appealed to the Six Changer. Down with the Decepticons, down with the Quintessions, and then, life would be simpler. A heavy digit rested contempatively against his chin. Lines deepened with doubt. From Exo-suit Glaive Unity , Michael Briar is sitting on an large mountain top, one of the few bits of rock that break though the ice around here. Having an EDC satcom pick up the group traveling to Antarctica, Michael can't help but want to check things out. But he's going to need help. His long range antenna and satellite transmitter retracts back into the helmet of the Unity. In the meantime, he keeps himself distracted by playing pong. Another examination reveals that practically every component visible is connected to that cylinder. Is Guiltor's laser core housed within? There are many other components within, as well, such as his fuel pump, still working efficiently, and secondary systems that Andi should easily recognize. The odd thing is that many of the systems appear to have come from different "manufacturers," so to speak, and yet they are all expertly integrated with one another into a flawless whole. "Yes, Foxfire," Guiltor says. "A cheerleader. And you fail even at that." He gestures towards Quickswitch. "Do you see the doubt in his eyes? I have given him hope, for the first time in his life. You Autobots failed to do that." Returning his gaze to Quickswitch, Guiltor reasons, "Yes, Quickswitch. We can do this, together. Side by side. Think... just think... of all the lives you will save. You will be renowned throughout the galaxy as a hero and a bringer of peace, not the abomination that the Autobots see you as." So everything leads back to this cylinder. Hm. Andi starts loosening the connectors on one end, preparing them so she can yank the whole bundle all in one tug. Another Glaive II happens to be in the southpole. The pilot, Nate, has autopilot set up. His prototype mech has some bells and whistles that the Unity doesn't have and what the original prototype didn't have. The pilot is playing some Virgos Another Glaive II happens to be in the southpole. The pilot, Nate, has autopilot set up. His prototype mech has some bells and whistles that the Unity doesn't have and what the original prototype didn't have. The pilot is playing some Virgos Merlot music and has Tetris on a screen so he can keep himself busy. Finally he hears a beep letting him know he is near where his cousin is. "Ah, good." "You're a fool," Foxfire retorts coldly. "Quickswitch is an Autobot. We don't betray our own kind, especially not for some mechanical reject who deceives people into believing the untrue!" From Exo-suit Glaive Unity , The Unity's scanners flicker to life, interrupting his game of pong. It was getting boring, the computer was winning. Michael clears the game and zooms in on the small speck in the distance. Michael opens a line of sight com broadcast, <> He pulls off his rail rifle and slaps in clip into the weapon. As it powers up ice hisses and steams off of the weapon with chunks falling off in a few spots. <> he says, <> From Glaive II - Prototype , Nate Briar listens to the chirps as Mikey acts all official. He responds with his own message as he lands the suit down. <> He smirks slightly and readies his weapon systems, "So, how many of these Guiltors do we have to take out?" Steam hissed from the Six Changer's shoulder vents as they rose and fell. Doubt clouded his racing systems, paused long enough between looming, staggering thoughts that choked off reason. His mouth pinched into a terse line. -Hope.- He's offering something I've only dreamed about-- -Defiance- I won't--can't--betray the Autobots, and Impactor-- -Possibility- What if this weird amalgam is right, what've I got to lose? -Uncaring- --weak--all of them were weak--Decepticon, Autobot, Quintesson-- -Skepticism- He's at least offering a direct solution, as much as I don't trust to it, those idiots calling the shots have done much less. -Wrath- No /way/ am I going with him!!! The thoughts clouded him over, and he hung somewhere between painful hope and dire confusion. Guiltor replies to Foxfire with: "Untrue? I don't think he believes so. He appears quite responsive to what I've been saying. I would venture that you Autobots have been treating him very poorly." Looking back to Quickswitch, Guiltor's optics seem to crinkle in a grandfatherly way as he finally stands directly in front of Quickswitch. "I understand, my friend, if you aren't ready to join us yet. Andi Lassiter seems to be on the verge of disconnecting power to my laser core, which will cause my death. But, when you are ready... we will be waiting for you." He stares down at his chest. "Almost finished, little one?" "Who are you to talk!!" the emotions burst forth at least, firey against the cold, and he reeled on the very small tape, the sound of hysterical transformation and his jaws roaring wide, fanged. His optics glowed, "We wear the same brand, but DAMNED if we're carved from the same metal--" he heaved from his vocalizer, "--built from the same programming!" there was resentment, pain, in that wail and the puma sprang up, gazed with so much confusion at Guiltor, biting back RAGE, utter confusion, the voice sounded exactly the way he imagined it would. But that isn't Optimus Prime! Deep in his lasercore, he wanted to believe it. From Exo-suit Glaive Unity , Michael Briar shakes his head frowning. When he's punched in, he's all professional and right now he's on the clock. <> he says and smirks, <> He throttles up the engines sending him off the cliff ledge he was leaning against. The Unity wobbles a bit in the wind before the four wings snap out and lock into place giving him stability. Or making him look like a tech version of a cherubim angel. The Unity turns and blasts off across the mountains leaving a trail of white behind him. As soon as he clears the last mountain and is within view of the group, the Unity dives down towards them. Foxfire hesitates. It's not the other Autobots' fault about the way they treat Quickswitch--after all, HE is the one who causes most of the problems. However, he does not comment on this, knowing that it would only make the situation worse. He is startled by Quickswitch's sudden outburst, hunching himself up slightly and staring at the Sixchanger with wide optics. "Qu-Quickswitch...you..." Andi Lassiter can hear everything Weirdor says, and when she hears that she changes tactic, pulling all cables to the cylinder EXCEPT the power conduits. Let's see how you like being trapped in your own mind, jackass. She quickly resecures the power conduits to make sure her captor's laser core doesn't 'die'. From Glaive II - Prototype , Nate Briar wonders when he will get the joy of getting Guiltor to visit him. But alas, he is not important. <> He starts to home in on Guiltor's position and ponders firing off a blast, "Better let Mikey take charge..." Guiltor nods encouragingly to Quickswitch. "Yes, listen to your feelings, my friend! You know the truth! The only thing you have in common with THEM is an allegiance--but then, if that is all, why not change it? Here, let this be the first step on the path to your glorious new career--in the Cybertronian Empire!" His arm cannon suddenly swings up, pointing at Foxfire. "Good bye, little Fox! Consider your uselessness before the blackness takes you! FUSION CANNON! FIRE!" And then the rifle disgorges a brilliant purple bolt, which sounds just like Megatron's fusion cannon did when fired. The beam rushes towards Foxfire. "Clever little one," Guiltor mutters as he feels the cords being pulled. "But the Quintessons anticipated everything." And as Andi pulls the cords free, Guiltor freezes in place, arm pointed at Foxfire, his body slowly turning grey. Dead!? But how! Andi's plan should've worked... what happened? You strike Foxfire with Fusion Cannon for 33 points of damage. Exo-Suit Glaive Unity shakes its head. ((I don't know Nate. But we'll give it one hell of a try. If the bots down there are affected, we might need to take them down as well.)) he sighs, <> As he nears the group he slows to a hover and lands with a thud in the snow. He lifts his rail rifle and says over speakers, "This is General Briar of the EDC. Guiltor, you are to surrender or we will open fire." Of course, it's about this point when Guiltor turns grey and Michael notices Andi. "Lieutenant Lassiter? What are you doing here?" Andi Lassiter scrambles back to the "windshields" after pulling the cables and waves at the Unity. "Get me out of here!" She doesn't know if they can hear her, but she's yelling anyway. As Guiltor points the cannon, everything seems to go in slow motion. Foxfire is hit with the blast, sending him into a rocky wall nearby. He falls to the snowy ground, badly damaged and his armor burnt. "That...all ya got...Freakazoid?" he manages as he climbs to his feet. He struggles for a bit, then falls back down, his form smoking, but still conscious. "It'll take more than that...to get rid of me..." The human was here? Contempt. Suspicion, rage boiled as his optics narrowed to unfriendly slits. He looked around. One of the humans' exo-units was coming closer. This, he did not like. The sound drawing nearer coupled with the situation and the other human present were wearing him down, as was before. His head hurt, pounded by input both inside and outside himself. Horror filled his optics at the wrathful expulsions of his own vocalizer unit. He whipped his head violently about. His blasters joined his frozen hands, a reassuring thing. His fingers closed around them. Felt relief. From Glaive II - Prototype , Nate Briar hovers closer and follows behind Michael Briar's suit. <> His weapons switch off as he puts the safety on, <> He smirks, and glances over the Autobots and wonders if an attack was about to happen. "Foxfire!" the icy wind stole his vocalization as he shifted forms into his thick-treaded drill tank mode and rumbled his way over to the damaged tape, "Are you functional?" his cpu surged with a flood of panic, "Just lay still... I'll get you back to Autobot City...." he shifted forms again, reaching to pick up the tiny Foxbot who had spoken up. From Exo-suit Glaive Unity , Michael Briar says, "My pleasure Andi." He leaps blowing snow out from behind him from his jets. The Unity arcs high into the air and slams down past Andi so he's between him and Guiltor. "Nate, no if I knew he was about to expire thanks to Andi here, then I wouldn't have bothered with this. Well, besides the rescue." The Unity turns around to face Andi and holds out his hands to her. He just hopes she's wearing her survival outfit. Then he gets an idea, "Quickswitch, got room for Andi in there as well?" Guiltor remains in his current pose, unmoving, unresponsive to the swirling of snow or the movements of the EDC and Autobots. The doors are closed pretty tightly, but it might be a simple matter to cut him open now that he isn't zipping around the battlefield like a cheetah. "Functional, yeah..." Foxfire winces slightly. "Not really able to move, though. PRIMUS that hurt." A tiny smirk appears on his muzzle. "Glad you...didn't lisson to that freak of a mech. You're still a valuable member of the Autobots..." From Glaive II - Prototype , Nate Briar lands near the Guiltor and sighs, "Alright, I will rig it up to destroy this... menace." He locks in his two missiles and then stops, <> He takes to the air and has the mech salute Michael. Andi Lassiter is trapped INSIDE Guiltor's chest compartment, that truck cab-like area. She pounds on the glass, clearly wearing only a t-shirt and a couple of bandaged places on her arms. Quickswitch picks up the tiny cassette-bot in his hands, giving the small primitive another warm, reassuring smile, "Don't try to move too much... We'll be on our way soon," he spoke softly. Then, the human intruded. The arrogant one, the one with the oh Primus that tiny thing? The Sixchanger snickered at the small exo-unit. But at his words, there was no humor. His hands closed over Foxfire like a thick metal protective cage. Bring the human back? Quickswitch's form changed. Completely. Was that idiot serious? "No. Absolutely not!" "I hope you don't expect me to take that banal little request seriously. You can look after your own treacherous kind." Michael Briar shrugs, "Or I could send an evac team to pull you out Andi. The ES-19's are not exactly built for two people. Well, I 'could' squeeze you in, but it'd be um...close quarters." He smiles and chuckles at that. Quickswitch was serious, as his form shifted into his sub-orbital jet form, to get back as soon as possible and depositing Foxfire into a small pocket of subspace (OooOOOooo. His photon blasters, war movies and gay robo porn are floating around in there--okay, maybe not the porn) "You people can make your own way back. Don't worry, Foxfire... The ETA won't be long." Accelerated, Quickswitch transforms into a sub-orbital jet. Andi Lassiter says, "What? No, wait! Damnit, don't leave me here!" Andi Lassiter sighs. Now that this Guiltor shell is deactivated, it's getting colder. And she's NOT dressed for anything even close to this climate. Part of Quickswitch is deeply compassionate toward life, while another part of the Sixchanger is colder than the arctic, merciless and uncaring, finding the humans irrelevent, even for contempt. Confusion and doubt strung at him. That human had reduced, injured him, he had reminded himself. The other Autobots could deal with it. Or those other humans. He was depositing Foxfire back at Autobot City for repairs. And so, Andi Lassiter froze to death. ...nah, I'm kidding.